Although . . . not much of this trip had proved lucky so far.
Carter grumbled under his breath and then, wincing loudly, curled his leg over the ledge and shoved his foot into the first carved nook. “I’ll go first.”
“Obviously.”
He rolled his eyes. “Really? Any other wise-ass comments?”
“Shush, you’re ruining the moment.”
When he gaped at her, she giggled.
“You’re impossible, Liliana.”
She glared at him. “I wish I’d never told you that name.”
“I like it.” His grin was magnificent.
“Well I don’t. Stop talking. You need to concentrate.”
“Yes, boss.”
She grumbled, but held her breath as he inched lower down the ledge.
Once he was halfway along, Lily gripped onto weeds, lowered to her knees, and then curled her right leg over the edge and guided her foot into the first nook. Gripping onto whatever she could, she followed Carter’s lead by rock climbing down. It must’ve taken a miraculous engineering feat to carve these steps into the rock face. Some were no bigger than a foothold; some were as big as a toaster. It was slow going, but with every glance she made toward the cave entrance she knew it’d be worth it.
Soon she was below ground level, and her cheek brushed against the jagged rocks as she clutched at the wall. It was painstakingly slow, and her legs trembled when she finally stepped onto a rock platform with Carter.
“Lily, this has to be Mayan. Look at these carvings.” He glided his fingers over the left-hand curve of the circle perimeter.
“I agree.” She eased up beside him and traced her finger over the length of a snake engraved into the stone. “It’s very similar to the one at Agulinta.”
“Similar . . . I’d say it’s the same.” Carter tugged at his camera and clicked off a series of photos. “Look at the detail in this carving. See the king’s robe? Wow.”
“Yes, I sketched that exact lintel up at Agulinta. The detail is exqui—”
“Shhh.” He clutched her wrist.
“What?”
They stared at each other, blinking. Listening.
A regular beat emerged over the rumble of the river. “A motor. We’re saved!” She wanted to jump for joy, but Carter’s reaction wasn’t the same.
In fact, it was the opposite. “What?”
“What if it’s not?” His whisper was loaded with dread. “It might be the drug guys.”
Her heart stammered. She shot a glance to the river and back again. “What do we do?”
His grip on her wrist deepened. “It’s too late to climb up. We have to hide in there.”
Her eyes shot to the cave. The liquid tongue. The black hole. The dark pool.
The motor grew louder by the second.
Her stomach twisted at the thought of swimming, but the fear in Carter’s eyes was even greater. “We could wait and see.”
“We can’t risk it. We’re trapped like sitting ducks. Now move.”
She froze. Fear ripped up her spine like razor blades.
“Shit, come on! You need to swim.”
“I don’t—”
He clutched her cheeks, drawing her eyes to his. “Listen to me. You can do this.”
His confidence in her was the jolt she needed. “Okay.” She swallowed. “Please don’t let me go.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
As he clutched her hand, voices drifted over the water. Men’s voices. Loud voices. Angry too. Her heart set to explode.
They were only a foot or so above the water, and Carter went first by sitting on the edge of the rock and dangling his legs into the pool. “Come on.” He patted the rock ledge.
Despite the scream in her head, she followed his lead. There was no time to remove her shoes and the cold water seeped in, filling them up, weighing them down.
“All you have to do is hold your breath and kick. Ready?”
Although she was a thousand breaths away from ready, she nodded.
They pushed off, and she gulped back a huge mouthful of air just before her head sank below the water. She kicked for the surface and within a millisecond, she was there.
Carter squeezed her arm, urging her forward. “Kick, Lily.”
Her mouth alternated between above and below the surface with each kick and she swallowed equal amounts of water and air. Pushing against the current, he dragged her into the mouth of the cave and they slipped out of the sunlight.
With the darkness came a change in temperature, and the cool water had goose pimples tickling her arms. The motor engine grew louder and the farther they went into the cave, the more it echoed off the walls.
Her heart pounded in her ears as she fought the slight current and struggled to keep her head above the water. To the left-hand side of the cave was a rock ledge elevated a couple of inches above water. She was nearly out of breath by the time they reached it. When she had her grip, Carter brushed the hair from her eyes. “Are you okay?” he whispered.
She nodded.
“Good.” He held his finger to his lips. “Shhh.”
She nodded again. The fear in his eyes equally matched her own panic. Gripping onto the ledge took effort, and she continued kicking, trying to keep afloat. Her boot punted something, and she searched for it again. To her relief, a small outcrop allowed her to place her weight onto it, taking the pressure off her hands.
The motor grew louder and the voices bellowed over the noise. Their accent was Mexican. They seemed irritated, or excited, or maybe they were just trying to talk over the rumble of the engine. Every sound bounced off the cave walls, amplifying and multiplying them equally. Her pounding heart added to the racket.
At one point she believed the men were right outside the cave, but then just as quickly they faded away.
As the seconds ticked by, the fear that’d gripped her dissolved, and she turned her attention to the cave. It was about the size of her one-bedroom apartment. The roof was higher though, and dozens of stalactites dangled from it like gnarly fingers. She followed the line of sunlight filtering through the entrance and her heart just about stopped at what she saw. In a little nook to her right, two crosses were positioned high on the wall, as if displayed on a mantelpiece. A glint of light captured her attention, and she squinted to see what it was. From this distance, she thought it might be a necklace curled around the cross.
“That was close.” Carter ran his hand over his wet hair and turned to her. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before they come back.”
“Can I have a quick look at those first?” She pointed over his shoulder.
He glanced that way, then turned back to her with fury in his eyes. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’ll only take a second. Please.”
He clamped his jaw. “Jesus! Okay, but be quick.”
Lily didn’t hesitate. Using the foothold she had beneath the water, she put both hands on the ledge and pushed up. But she misjudged the height and fell back into the water. She cried out as she fell and swallowed a mouthful of water. Carter gripped her biceps and dragged her to the surface.
She gasped for air and clawed for the ledge again.
He chuckled. “What was that?”
Lily spluttered. “Shit.”
“Here, I’ll help you. Hold on.”
Carter launched himself up and out with an agility that belied both his injuries and days without decent food. He reached for her hand, and using her foothold, she literally walked up the wall and out of the water.
She wiped her hair from her eyes. “Thank you.” The books inside her shirt weighed heavily, and as she lifted her top to release them, she knew it’d be a miracle if they survived yet another dunking. Her notebook was finished, and with a heavy heart she tossed the sodden mess onto the cave
floor. The journal was still wound up tightly with the leather strap, and she resisted opening it, hopeful it’d be okay once it dried out.
Carter placed his hand on her lower back. “Come on. Let’s see what we’ve got and get outta here.”
She placed the journal down and together they walked toward the tiny nook.
The crosses were propped up on a couple of rocks that jutted out from the wall. Each cross was unique and based on their rough design, they looked handmade.
A small silver necklace with a crescent moon was draped around the cross on the left, and Lily leaned in to read the inscription, which compared to the ones outside in the weather, was easily visible. Alejandra Maria Bennett. Her breath caught in her throat. Tears stung her eyes. She read the next line. 23 Julio 1976–4 Augusta 1980. A shiver ran up her spine.
“What’s wrong?” Carter touched her arm.
“She was just four years old?”
“This other person was twenty-six.”
Lily turned to him. “I think they may’ve been my dad’s first wife and child.”
His eyebrows bounced together. “The chances of that—”
“Bennett is my surname.”
He blinked a few times and his mouth dropped. “Oh. Then . . .” Carter didn’t finish his sentence, and Lily turned back to the cross to read the second inscription. “Rosa Maria Bennett.”
She frowned at something white wedged beneath Rosa’s cross. Swallowing back the lump in her throat, she lifted the wood and her heart leapt to her throat. It was an old photo. “Oh my God, Carter. That’s my dad.” She pointed at the man in the photo. He had his arm around a woman who wore a long white dress with large flowers decorated across the bottom. Her arms were draped over the shoulders of a little girl who stood in front of her. All three of them were smiling.
“Are you sure? It was a long time ago.”
“Some of the photos in that suitcase I told you about must’ve been taken on the same day. The lady is wearing the same dress in each of them.”
“Oh.” He sighed.
“I can’t believe this. I wonder if they died in that mudslide.” Her voice quivered. “Why didn’t he ever tell anyone?”
Carter curled his arm around her shoulder and a sob caught in her throat. “It probably hurt too much.”
“But what was he doing here in Mexico?”
Carter didn’t answer. Lily flipped the photo over, and there, in her father’s distinct handwriting, he’d written I will love you forever, my beautiful Rose. Tears tumbled down Lily’s cheeks, and Carter wrapped his arms around her. Days of built-up emotion burst, releasing floodgates and as she cried into his chest, he squeezed her to his body and glided his hand over her hair.
When she could cry no more, she sucked in a shaky breath and withdrew from him. “Sorry, I just . . . I can’t believe this.”
“No need to say sorry. It must be such a shock. At least he didn’t abandon his wife and child.”
She nodded. “I feel awful for thinking that.”
“Hey, you weren’t to know. He was the one who’d kept the photos but chose to keep their existence a secret.”
She stewed over his comment for a moment, then nodded. “I wonder why?”
Lily lifted the cross again and replaced the picture in its original position. “Can you take a photo for me, please?”
“I can try, but my poor camera has just had another swim, so no guarantees.” Carter twisted off the lens cap and hissed through his teeth when water poured out. “That’s not good.”
“I know, but give it a go.”
Carter clicked a button and the camera made a terrible grinding noise. The lens would normally extend and contract upon startup, but not this time. It went out a fraction, but stopped. Carter manually eased it the rest of the way, looked through the viewfinder, and adjusted the lens before he snapped a few photos.
“Hopefully they turn out.” He clipped the lens cap back into place and turned the camera to rest on his hip. “Come on.” He reached for her hand. “Let’s get out of . . .” His eyes darted to the entrance, and he tugged Lily down.
“Shhh.” He held his finger to his lips.
The roar of the boat was as sudden as it was loud.
“Shit.” Carter tugged Lily toward the back of the cave.
The engine noise boomed, bouncing off the rock walls. She pictured them right outside the cave and her heart thundered in her chest.
“Que es eso.” A man’s deep voice reverberated off the rock walls.
“Se parece a una bolsa.”
“Oh shit, Lily, they’ve found your pack. Come on.” Carter’s fingers strangled her wrist as he hauled her around the side of the nook and into the blackness.
“My journal.” She wrenched her wrist free and raced to the book. Gripping it like her life depended on it, she raced back to Carter. He seized her hand like she was a naughty child and tugged her forward. There was enough light to see where they were going, but with each step the roof lowered and the walls crept in.
“Que están en la cueva.”
“Fucking hell. They’re coming.” Carter spoke in forced whispers.
They shuffled deeper into the blackness, and with each step it became apparent they were about to run out of hiding space. Hunching beneath the cave roof, Lily shoved the journal back down her top. Soon they were crawling and Lily felt every little rock beneath her already battered knees.
“We know you’re in there.” The heavily accented voice bellowed from the entrance. “Come out and we won’t hurt you.”
Fear was a nasty vise gripping Lily’s chest as she cowered in the shadows and squeezed Carter’s hand in a death grip. An explosion of sound and brilliant flashes lit up the cave as bullets shredded the walls around them.
“Get down.” Carter hurled her to the ground.
Lily hit the floor. Her cheek smashed onto the rough rocks. She tugged her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut.
The deadly onslaught continued.
Rocks tumbled onto her as bullets ricocheted off the wall just above her head. Something fell on her arm and she opened her eyes to see the remains of a stalactite.
“Last chance or we come get you.” Despite the man’s ominous voice, he said it in a singsong manner, as if he were playing a child’s game.
“What do we do?” Lily whispered.
Carter turned to her, and when she met his wide-eyed gaze, she knew she was going to die.
Chapter 18
Carter had been in terrifying situations before. It was basically impossible to avoid them when traveling to remote places in the world where people were just as likely to cut off an arm for a watch as they were to welcome you into their homes for dinner. But he’d never been as scared as he was right now.
He knew exactly why—Liliana.
He was prepared to give his life to save her. And that’s what he planned to do.
The panic raging in her beautiful blue eyes nearly cut his heart in two. “Listen to me. I’m going to swim out to those guys. You stay right where you are.”
“No. They’ll kill you.” She clutched his arm.
“No they won’t. I’ll reason with them. Explain what we’re doing and it’ll be okay.”
“We’ll go together then.” The muscles in her jaw clenched.
“No.” He spoke in hushed tones. “These are bad men; bad men do bad things to women.”
Her eyes bulged and the panic he’d seen moments ago tripled.
“Just stay here.”
She shook her head. “No. I won’t let you leave.” Her bottom lip quivered.
The lump in Carter’s throat made it nearly impossible to breathe. He leaned forward to kiss her forehead, but she tilted her head upward and their mouths met. Her tears and whimpers mingled with her soft lips. He clutched his fingers be
hind her neck and released his lips, drawing her to his chest. “You’re going to live. Your survival skills will get you through. Promise me you’ll make it back to your family.”
She shook her head.
“Promise me, Lily. I need it.”
“Estamos llegando ahora.” The menacing voice cut through the void.
“They’re coming Lily.” He put his forehead to hers. He wanted to hold her. To place his body between her and the evil outside. He wanted to tell her how he felt. And in that moment, he did. “I love you.”
Tears pooled in her eyes. Spilled over her cheeks. “I love you too.” For a long, heartbreaking moment, neither of them moved.
Suddenly, she pulled back. Her face changed from sorrow to determination. She flicked tears from her eyes. “The current.”
“What?”
“The water is coming from somewhere. We can swim upstream.”
He blinked at her. “You can’t swim.”
“I bloody well will.” She pushed to her hands and knees.
One of the Mexicans started whistling a melody, as if chasing people with armed weapons was child’s play.
“Come on.” She slapped his arm.
Carter winced at the pain in his hip as he pushed up. He cupped her cheek and leaned in for a quick kiss. “I won’t let you go.”
“I know.”
He reached for her hand and their fingers entwined as if they’d done it a hundred times before. Rounding the corner, the cave darkened even more. A narrow ledge skirted the side of the stream, but the low roof made it impossible to stand upright. Hunched over, they inched along hand in hand.
“When we get in the water, roll onto your back and kick below the surface so you don’t splash,” he whispered.
“Okay.”
“You have to trust me.”
“I do.” She squeezed his hand.
When he couldn’t go a step farther, he released her grip. “Stay there.” He turned to face the wall, and gradually lowered into the water, careful not to splash. With a grip on the ledge, he reached for her. “Okay, in you come.”
An explosion cut through the serenity, bullets slammed into rocks around them, showering them in debris.
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